Kalogridis couldn’t be reached for comment about his move to the East Coast. However, Orlando won’t be unfamiliar to him as he’s a University of Central Florida graduate and previously held various positions at Walt Disney World before his move to Disneyland.

In his tenure at Disneyland Resort, attendance at the park increased 9.5 percent, from 14.7 million in 2008 to 16.1 million in 2011, according to the Theme Entertainment Association and AECOM.

Attendance at Disneyland California Adventure Park saw similar growth, up 13.3 percent from 5.56 million attendees in 2008 to 6.3 million in 2011.

In comparison, Walt Disney World parks grew 1 percent each under Crofton for the same period. The estimated attendance in 2011 at Magic Kingdom was 17.1 million visitors; Epcot, 10.8 million; Animal Kingdom, 9.7 million; and Hollywood Studios, 9.6 million.

Meanwhile, Kalogridis oversaw the opening of Cars Land at Disneyland California Adventure Park, one of the park’s largest expansions based on the popular Cars movie franchise.

Many colleagues think highly of Kalogridis, a Disney employee since 1971, “because he’s an approachable guy. He’s on the level of former Disney executives like Lee Cockerell who get what Disney is about,” said Chad Emerson, author of several books about Walt Disney World.

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